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"For they shall inherit the earth."
(Matthew 5:5)
In verse 5, Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek." The Greek word translated meek is prays, which means a gentleness of spirit. Another form of this word, praos, is used in Matthew 11:29, and it means gentle, mild, and meek. Jesus said, "For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." A form of the word praos is also used in Galatians 5:23: praotes, which means gentleness, mildness, meekness, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Source: BlueletterBible.org)
The Bible contains numerous examples of men and women of God who were meek. Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Ruth, and Jeremiah are Old Testament examples of those who were meek, not weak, and who received and extended the grace of God. In the New Testament, we read of Peter, John, Mary, Stephen, Barnabus, Lydia, and many others who exemplified this Beatitude. But the one who personified it above all others was Jesus Christ, of whom Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-8: "But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
Who are the meek? They are the passionate Christ-followers who lay aside their rights, do not make demands, do not exert their will with force or power, humbly serve, and put God and others first. They are gentle and kind, yet incredibly strong. They are those who have strength under control. They can be 6'5" tall, like my friend Marty Jacumin, or 5'0", like Mother Teresa. It is not their physical size that matters but the size of their heart.
Marty started as offensive guard for NC State and turned down a very lucrative career in business to serve as a Baptist pastor in NC. And most of us know the story of Mother Teresa... or do we? Most equate her with meek, lowly, and mild, but she was that and more: she was a strong, convicting voice with a prophetic tone. I enjoyed the book, Blessed Are You: Mother Teresa and the Beatitudes, by Eileen and Kathleen Egan. Her call was to the poorest of the poor in India. She would teach little children the alphabet by writing in the dirt with a stick. In 1950, Sister Teresa became Mother Teresa, and in an upper room in an old house in Calcutta, India, she championed the guidelines for the Missionaries of Charity. (See Egan, p. 67-68.) Years ago, Mother Teresa visited Washington DC. I was familiar with this event but not the conversation she had with Hillary Clinton. Clinton asked Mother Teresa why our country had not elected a female president, and Mother Teresa responded that we had probably aborted her. It takes courage to speak those kind of words in that setting to powerful people you would be tempted to please.
Jesus says the meek are blessed and they inherit the earth. Now, those are two grand blessings reserved for the meek! Makarios means to be happy but also much, much more. John MacArthur states, "Not happiness in the sense of the world's flippant, circumstantial kind of happiness, but happiness in God's terminology—an abiding, true joy, based on an eternal relationship with the living God."
Notice that Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth. In Greek, the emphasis is they, the meek only, will inherit the earth, not the elite, powerful, and proud. There is certainly a future element to this promise. But there is also a present element, I believe, as we inherit the earth now. Those whose lives have been redeemed truly inherit the blessed life in the here and now.
I pray that the Lord blesses you and you serve God and others with a meek and gentle spirit. The Lord will surely bless and reward you for a life patterned after His. Have a blessed weekend!
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